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Marshall Eriksen
Marshall Eriksen has been Ted Mosby's best friend since 1998, when the two met at Wesleyan University as undergraduates. He is currently married to the love of his life and fellow Wesleyan alum, Lily Aldrin. Brought up in the tightly-knit community of St. Cloud, Minnesota, Marshall's inherent kindness makes him the most compassionate member of the gang. He has recently quit his job as a corporate lawyer at Goliath National Bank to pursue his dream of saving the world through environmental law. Character Background Early Life Marshall was born and raised in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He became very close to his parents and was taught manners by them. He is also close to his brothers. His father was very tough on him as shown in when he wouldn't let Marshall go to sleep until he scored a hoop in basketball. His brothers also played basketball and baskiceball (a game that he and his family invented combining basketball and ice skating), along with intense wrestling. Teenage Years He is the slam dunk champion of Nicollet Country, Minnesota, with his trademark dunk the "White Windmill". History Marshall met Ted Mosby and Lily Aldrin on the first day of their freshman year at Wesleyan University. Marshall majored in Biomedical Engineering, but decided against having a career in it after his obsessive reading of Huffington Post. He is a Columbia Law School graduate originally from St. Cloud, Minnesota. He can no longer dunk because he has dancer's hip ( ). Even though Marshall is at a height of 6'4", he is the shortest male member of his family and considered the "runt" of the family. Apparently, cough syrup 'stunted' his growth, hitting 6"4 in fifth grade, then stopping ( ).A donkey supposedly had eaten Marshall's pants the last time he was in Trenton, and at Bill's bachelor party in Memphis, they had to pump out several nickels from his stomach ( ). Marshall is extremely loyal to his friends and in particular Ted, his best friend. In the first season finale, his wedding plans are derailed when Lily pursues a painting fellowship in San Francisco, triggering a fight that ends their engagement. He and Lily rekindle their romantic relationship in , get re-engaged, and are actually married for 12 seconds in . Their wedding takes place during the last two episodes of Season 2. In early 2011, Marshall and Lily are worried about their fertility status. Lily learns that she is fertile, and after some stressful days, Marshall learns that he too is fertile. During this time, Lily informs Marshall that his father, Marvin Eriksen Sr., had died as a result of a sudden heart attack. Future In the future, he and Lily are still married during the time Future Ted relays the tale of how he met the mother. They have at least one son. It is revealed in that Marshall and his boss do in fact save the world. Personality Marshall is very polite since he has grown up in Minnesota. He is loving and caring and confident and extremely emotional, which he often gets teased of by the gang. He is very passionate about what he does, and cares deeply for his family and friends. He loves Gouda, don't skimp on the Gouda. Marshall is very superstitious, for example, he licks the plane, before a flight he is on takes off, so the plane does not crash, as mentioned by Lily in . Marshall also believes in myths such as the Loch Ness Monster and ghosts. One of the many reasons he loves Lily is because she, too, believes in these things. Marshall often uses the word "Lawyered" whenever he makes a point in an argument often using facts and numbers. The term has become somewhat of a catchphrase for him. He also has been shown have a bad habit of singing what he does (or sometimes "nonsense stuff like a stroke victim" as Robin said) as shown in . Hobbies and Interests Marshall has a great love of, and often preoccupation with, food. In episodes such as and while other characters are curious about the details of Ted's love life, Marshall is more concerned about the origin of foods associated with these details. He eats very often, consuming food such as popcorn or ice cream as a result of emotional situations. Marshall is a very capable fighter as shown in when he leveled Doug (a waiter at MacLaren's known for his violent streak) while Ted was unconscious and Barney had run away (it was stated earlier in that he had never been in a fight before, also in he says, "I'm not much of a fighter"). He learned how to fight while growing up as he and his brothers often engaged in hardcore fights with weapons (as seen when Marshall attacks one of his brothers with a hot cup of cocoa and a vase) and playing the extremely violent sport "Baskiceball". Marshall is an extremely good dancer, as seen in , he spent a few minutes in the bathroom looking for painkillers, and came out in a euphoric state. Marshall is very good at games, as shown in . He always wins, which prompts his friends to put him in charge of game night with the exception that he can't play. Marshall took this to mean he must make up a game, and so he does: Marshgammon, which "incorporates the best parts of all other games" with the notable exception of backgammon. When the gang was gambling in Atlantic City in , Marshall was the only person to figure out the crazy Chinese game Barney was playing. In college, Marshall and Ted play a game called "Zitch Dog" on their road trip; Marshall won even while he was sleeping ( ) Marshall has been shown to have the ability to telepathically communicate with both his wife, Lily and his friends. Marshall is capable of designing basic websites, Examples of this include Slapcountdown.com and LilyandMarshallselltheirstuff.com. Career Marshall always wanted to be an Environmental Lawyer, but had to work at other places when he couldn't get a job at an Environmental Law Firm. He worked shortly at Nicholson, Hewitt & West. He later took a job at Goliath National Bank . He worked at GNB for a few years but quit in . He tried to find work at various environmental law firms and finally got a job at "Honeywell & Cootes" in The Naked Truth. Relationships Ted Mosby Marshall first met Ted in their freshman year at Wesleyan University. When he first saw Ted in his room, Marshall thought that he was the Dean, and was sad, but realized he was wrong when he caught Ted "eating a sandwitch." While they were roommates, they initially argued and fought amongst each other. However, after a life threatening trip together, became best friends, and have remained best friends ever since. Every year, they go to Gazolas to eat terrible pizza, but love spending time together. Ted was Marshall's best man at his wedding, alongside Barney. Lily Aldrin Marshall first met Lily in their freshman year at Wesleyan University. They almost immediately began dating, getting engaged in the . At the end of Season 1, Lily breaks off the engagement to go to San Francisco for an art fellowship. Then in the beginning of Season 2, Lily begs Marshall to take her back but he says no and dates another girl. However after one date Lily and Marshall get back together and get married in . Barney Stinson When they first met, Barney considered Marshall to be the same "loser" as Ted, and decided to be his decision-maker ( ). When he tried to make him cheat on his girlfriend with the red-headed hottie at the bar, Marshall plays along and surprises Barney by making out with her a few seconds after approaching her (the girl is actually Lily, whom Barney doesn't know at the time). Since then, Marshall and Barney are on a constant "fight" for the post of Ted's Best Friend, such as in and . When Barney is in a relationship with Robin, he tries to convince Marshall that he has become the best at relationships, and even teaches Marshall how to stand his ground against Lily ( ), with disastrous consequences. Marshall and Barney seem to share a common sense of humor, laughing at most jokes together and picking up funny phrases from casual phrases. Their sense of humor sometimes border on inappropriateness (such as laughing about Barney's hypothetical naked sending-off after his death in ). Marshall still has two slaps that can be given at any time after the events of (he had 5, but the number was extended to 8 at . Robin Scherbatsky Although Marshall and Robin have moderate direct interaction with each other, the two get along pretty well most of the time, and even seem to share some common characteristics. Some issues, however, have sprouted between the two in the course of the series. Robin hangs around with Lily often, as the two are best friends. Since Marshall is Lily's long-time boyfriend and eventual husband, this leads to Marshall and Robin hanging out often as well. In , Robin offers to take Marshall to the airport to wait for Lily's arrival. While driving to the airport, Marshall lets slip out that he thinks Robin is a cold-blooded robot in relationships and the fact that she hates the small niceties in a couple makes her incapable of love. Robin takes this badly and pulls over until he apologizes. Just as Robin was about to pull our and drive how, a snow plow drives past engulfing the car in snow, leaving them immobile. Robin tells Marshall to close his eyes (so that she can open the car roof and get rid of the snow), which Marshall mistakes for Robin hitting on him. At other times, Robin and Marshall try to mock each other about each others level of attractiveness, with each trying to pass off the other as aesthetically "passable". (In , it turns out that Marshall thinks of most women as passable, treating the new hot bartender at MacLaren's Pub in the same way as Robin, but this seems to be because he doesn't want Lily to think he might be attracted to other women). However, both Robin and Marshall seem to have some things in common. Being both from the north (Marshall from Saint Cloud, Minnesota; and Robin from Canada), the two are impervious to New York's "mild" winter conditions. Marshall even bonds with Robin during . After she confesses how homesick she is for Canada, Marshall tries to cheer her up by bringing her to his favorite bar, the Walleye Saloon. However, when Robin steals Marshall's story of the 1998 NFC Championship game, Marshall outs Robin as a Canadian, getting her kicked out of the bar. Sorry for his actions, Marshall then introduces Robin to the Hoser Hut, a Canadian-themed bar. And while Marshall and Lily were broken up (at the start of Season 2), they share a fondness for guns, albeit very temporary, as Marshall hates violence. He even refers to Robin as a gun-nut later in , although he doesn't express it out loud. Family . Marshall says the turkey he bought looks like his bald Uncle Heinrek's head. Lily also knows him. In , explaining to Lily why they can't keep the goat, Marshall argues: "Why don't we just call the the Duluth Mental Hospital and say my Uncle Linus can live with us?" |grandfather = Olaf Eriksen (paternal) |grandmother = Grandma who apparently has a fowl mouth. |nephew = Martin Eriksen |in-law = see Lily's family, Ashley Eriksen }} Notes and Trivia *Marshall cannot grow a mustache ( ). *Lily's pet name for Marshall is "Marshmallow." He calls her "Lily Pad." *It's revealed in , having gone through a whole case of Tantrum with Ted during a trip to Gazola's, he passes out whenever he hears church bells. References Category:Characters Category:The gang Category:Goliath National Bank Category:Wesleyan University